So you’re considering cloud-native adoption? Identifying your goals and objectives in this journey is crucial, or else you might risk throwing your resources away.
It’s true to say that the last decade has been dominated by cloud computing. With a plethora of services and tools that keep rising in number every year, deploying data and workloads in the cloud is no more an alternative. On the contrary, cloud computing is now a major driver of innovation that keeps expanding its borders with every new development.
This might be one of the reasons why enterprises all over the globe are moving their applications entirely to the cloud and are increasingly embracing cloud-native environments.
Despite this growing trend, a transition to a cloud-native approach might become an overwhelming journey, especially if there is no thorough research and evaluation performed beforehand.
And this is true in part because the idea of moving to cloud-native can mean different things to various segments within an organization.
The whole process requires unique considerations from different groups of stakeholders, be it key decision-makers like CIOs, or staff within finance and IT departments.
All parties must stay on the same page in terms of how the organization will benefit from a cloud-native approach and what the roadmap to this goal looks like.
What are some of the things you and your team should be aware of when considering a cloud-native adoption? We explore exactly three major points below.
What Exactly is Cloud-Native?
The cloud-native architecture consists of several components, including:
- Microservices
- Containers
- Service Meshes
- Immutable Infrastructure
All these components usually work in tandem, but it is certainly possible to utilize them separately and independently of each other as well.
That being said, microservices remain to be at the very core of cloud-native. Usually packaged into containers, each microservice runs a separate function, be it communication, application execution, or implementation of capabilities when deployed.
Cloud-native applications are extremely dynamic. They can be easily and efficiently altered when updates to microservices are performed and have the unique ability to move from one cloud to other thanks to containers.
The cloud-native architecture allows applications to efficiently scale in and out, making this environment an attractive option for enterprises that consider adopting the cloud.
Advantages Of Cloud-Native Adoption
Better Cost Optimization
Cloud-native computing offers several valuable advantages including auto-scaling, elastic computing, and metered billing. When utilized effectively, these features help enterprises move away from the increased costs of un-scalable infrastructure and instead towards considerable savings.
Other ways costs are optimized is through reduced downtimes and increased resilience.
Reliability and Security
Businesses are in a crucial need to continually innovate by adding new features to their established applications, simply because competition never sleeps.
What this also means is that organizations require a sophisticated architecture that can handle frequent changes without jeopardizing existing operations.
The fact that cloud-native architecture is based on loosely coupled microservices helps to significantly reduce security and operational threats of massive failures.
Increased Agility
Another benefit lies in the ability of cloud-native architecture to power up applications in a way that allows the latter to stay highly available and to be constantly updated by Dev teams without any considerable downtimes.
Development teams can address end-user requests more efficiently thanks to the abilities of cloud-native applications. So increased agility and velocity are certainly key characteristics.
DevOps & Cloud Native
It’s true to say that adopting cloud-native applications and architecture comes with a major cultural change as well. For instance, following DevOps standards and principles is crucial for cloud native apps.
This also means that the whole system can work efficiently and seamlessly only if operation and development teams collaborate more closely, with development teams running applications on the cloud platform as operation engineers handle automation, development, and operations.
CONCLUSION
Unsurprisingly, cloud-native applications are one of the main reasons why giant tech brands such as Pinterest, Amazon, and Facebook are gaining a competitive advantage in their industries.
All that being said, it is important to understand that the complex procedure of creating cloud-native apps goes far beyond merely choosing the right tools. Your team is also a crucial component in this process.
So, to “cloud-native” or not to?
The ultimate decision will have to be based on several factors, assessments, and evaluations. But despite the complexities, one thing stays true: if implemented the right way, cloud-native can have a tremendous positive impact on your digital transformation journey.
Why Clouve? Our ultimate goal is all about harvesting the power of the cloud to create efficient and intelligent solutions for our clients.
We help your business to reap the benefits of the cloud by providing tools and services to help you succeed.
Our services range from complete coverage of your cloud environment including cloud migration, monitoring, maintenance, and troubleshooting, to reliable support, and sophisticated automation tools.
Learn more about Clouve by getting in touch with us today.
